10 Essential Glam Rock Albums

Recorded in the midst of a tour that saw Bowie ascend to superstardom, Aladdin Sane sees the artist grapple with the fame he always craved.

With Bowie experiencing major burnout as a result of his prolific work schedule and crazed fans, he performed one of his famous reinventions, eschewing his previous character and emerging as the titular lightning-faced creation.

The music has a harder edge to that of his past couple of releases, harkening back to his Man Who Sold The World-era hard rock on “Watch That Man’’ and “Cracked Actor”. “The Prettiest Star” is a sweeter proposition, with Mick Ronson’s unmistakable lead guitar work complimenting Bowie’s sing-song melody.

He teases some of the more experimental work he’d embark on three years hence with the piano freakouts that cap the title track and open the gloomy closer “Lady Grinning Soul”. It’s perhaps the most diverse of his early ‘70s crowd pleasing records.

Aladdin Sane tends to be less well remembered than the classics that precede it, but it’s a fascinating collection of music in which you can hear one of the era’s finest artists reckon with his own fame and career.